Shops in the centre of a Somerset town are in the dark about the future of a £3.5 million shopping centre which has been up for sale since the summer of last year.

Many businesses on Middle Street in Yeovil are technically owned by the owners of the Glovers Walk shopping centre in the heart of town.

The centre - which local business chiefs say has been "in decline for decades" - includes businesses such as Peacocks, The Entertainer, Oxfam, Bon Marche, Cash Generator, the Dutch Oven bakery and the Gorge Café.

Other popular stores in the centre include Atomic Comics and film memorabilia shop Movie Vault, though many of the shops and retail units which are part of Glovers Walk are currently empty.

(Image: Liam Trim)

It had been thought a deal to sell off the site was close, with the owner of one shop even telling Somerset Live they thought the sale had gone through.

But the majority of town centre traders affected have not heard any news of a sale and feel in the dark about what’s happening.

One local business manager, who did not wish to be named, said: “We’re always the last to know about any changes. We’ve seen lots of people coming and going to look upstairs and downstairs.

“But there’s been no formal confirmation of a sale, we don’t think anything’s gone through.

“It’s not a very nice trading environment with the empty shops nearby.”

Mark Staples, owner of The Sweeterie at 83 Middle Street, said he too wasn’t aware of Glovers Walk being sold but didn’t mind the lack of information.

He added: “They’re not telling the shopkeepers anything because they don’t need to.

“If I’m honest from my point of view it doesn’t really affect us either way. Nothing I can do will stop it and it’s none of my business.

“It’s like someone selling their house, the only difference is the new owner won’t be moving in here!”

Manager of the Middle Street Oxfam branch, Annie Kenyon, said: “We’ve heard the same as the other traders, that’s it’s just negotiating terms at the moment. We don’t even know the name of the company which is supposedly interested in buying.”

Another nearby shop said it understood two offers from buyers had fallen through.

A spokesman for Columbia Threadneedle, the current owner of the Glovers Walk site, said: “This is not something we wish to comment on as we don’t comment on rumours.”

Somerset Live also contacted the agents marketing the shopping centre regarding rumours of a sale and has received no response.

The site is still listed as “under offer” online.

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Got a view on the future of Glovers Walk? Or another Yeovil area story? Email liam.trim@westgaz.co.uk.

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